Pentagon announces new cyberwarfare strategy, naming Russia one of its targets

On Thursday, the Pentagon released a new strategy that for the first time explicitly discusses the circumstances under which cyberweapons could be used against an aggressor state. The new strategy also names the countries that pose the greatest threat: China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, Pravda.Ru reports.

In a speech at Stanford University, Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter stated for the fourth time in four months that the Obama administration had named suspected hackers or announced new strategies designed to raise the cost of cyberattacks.

The previous strategy of the Pentagon, released in 2011, was less detailed and only alluded to the new arsenal of cyberweapons that the US Defense Department was deploying. The strategy did not name any adversaries and only talked vaguely about them, Pravda.Ru says.

President Obama's decision to publicly name North Korea's leaders for ordering the largest destructive attack on an American target, the announcement of new sanctions against state-sponsored and criminal hackers, and the indictment of five members of the People's Liberation Army for attacking American corporate targets all reflect a sea change in administration policy.